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Friday, December 13, 2013

Are you getting into the holiday spirit? I have been busy getting our house into holiday shape, so that I can sit back and enjoy the last bit of the month surrounded by Christmas bling. We always have fun playing Christmas tunes and getting our craft on, and this year was no exception! In fact, we took things a bit further than we typically do, and I couldn't be happier with how our home is emoting so much glee.

You see that white stuff? Baby it's cold outside! And we have snow! It is shaping up to be a white Christmas!

This year my sweet friend, Chris from Just a Girl Blog, invited me to participate in her Christmas Tour of Homes {make sure to check out links full of endless inspiration at the end of this post}. So today you get to take a glance around our abode, which has been all dressed up for the holidays!

Before you step inside, let's chat about Holiday Home Tours. When I was first invited, I hesitated. Each year we typically spend some time doing a small Christmas display in our kitchen and decking out our tree. From there, I sprinkle little bits of cheer around our home. Have you seen some of these tours? Oh. My. Greatness. So many amazing ideas. So many beautiful photos and homes and decor. Could I even compare?

Wait. What? Compare? Not OK. One should never compare.

I have never been one to go crazy around the holidays with boatloads of new decor and a complete new look. It is expensive, I don't have the storage and too many decorations can make our home feel cluttered and small. So I do what I can to reuse items from my stock in new ways and keep things simple. Aside from a few small purchases, majority of my decor consisted of ornaments and ribbon. Like I said, simple. Hopefully you will gain a new perspective of our home {yes, my everyday home tour tab needs to be majorly updated}, and find some crazy easy ideas that you can do in your own home around the holidays.

For the front of our home, I went with a brilliant new color combo of teal and red. I love how the red appears to be so incredibly vibrant against the teally blue, such a difference over last year's white door. I do not typically decorate with red throughout the year, so this was a really fun for me. I brought in some red throughout the interior as well, let's head on in!

Ready to gain a new view of our home? Here is our living room, dining and kitchen in one shot.

Someday I imagine hosting Christmas gatherings without a giant wall between the kitchen and living room. It will really open things up.... OK, I am done daydreaming, back to the tour!

When you enter our home, we have a very small landing which received a little welcoming attention.

The poster was purchased from Caravan Shop for $5 and printed at Staples for $4. The boys had fun making a countdown chain at the beginning of the month, but they haven't had the hearts to tear it apart, so we decided it just made a playful addition to the space.

We found a small, unfinished wooden dear head at the craft store, which I gave a quick coat of paint. Then, I hot glued a small bulb on the nose to give the boys a little giggle. A command strip holds it to the center of the entry mirror.

The credenza, also known as our school cubbies, didn't change too much. Right after I posted that I couldn't kill succulent plants, I killed our succulent plants. Seriously, who does that? Me I guess. So, the blue planter received a sweet little tree along with some ribbon and colorful bulbs.

The Thanksgiving table setup was working quite nicely, and I say, don't fix what isn't broke. So a lot of the same elements played into our Christmas table as well; like the stripe runner and tree stump/cloche jar combo.

Reds to keep things traditional....

And a little bit of pink for fun!

How great is that bulb garland? So inexpensive to make as well! Just head to the dollar store and load up on ornaments, and string them on ribbon. There are quite a few tutorials on Pinterest, I used this one.

We had some small white planters from IKEA, which I taped off and got gold glitter happy with.

I also spray painted a couple of plastic toy deer figurines. A few more and I would have Santa's entire crew!

Our boys love coming home to a nice cup of hot cocoa or apple cider after school. Instead of pulling out all of the fixings every day, I just set up a simple little cocoa/cider bar.

A couple of mason jars filled with cocoa, marshmallows and candy canes, and we have a sweet way to keep our tummies warm. Excuse me for a moment; I may have to make myself a quick cup.

That is about as much as I do in the kitchen. Our counters have limited space so I keep our decor focused in the dining area.

Time to switch gears and take a peek at the tree! Every year we head to the same tree farm and pick out the perfect addition to the Jones home.

I think this is the first year we actually got our measurements right! They always look so much smaller at the farm, we get them home and WHOA! But this year, it fit just right!

All of the decorations were the same we have used in previous years. Only this year I switched up how we strung the ribbon, and we crafted up a few extra ornaments out of paper to beef it up a bit.

We are fans of Christmas traditions, and we have a few that we do year after year around here. Under the tree you will find a special box of ornaments, all of the ones we have collected over the years made by the boys and given to us as gifts. You know, the ornaments with meaning. Christmas Eve, we open that box and the kids place them on the tree one by one as we all go down memory lane...

Next to the tree is a small table that holds our Instagram photos, a dice game and a small book for the boys to jot down special Christmas memories. It is also makes a great beverage holder.

The bookcases were also kissed with bulb garland. I really love the color and sparkle.

We recently added a small table in front of our couch and it seemed like the ideal place to keep our Holiday Planning Binder and a dish to hold the Christmas greetings that we receive in the mail from our smiling friends and family.

Although I mostly stick to the dining and living area for decor, this year I decided to play with our mantle in our lower level family room as well. It is where we hang the boy's stockings after all!

Another tradition we treasure on Christmas Eve is to sit and read The Night Before Christmas in our holiday pajamas. It only seemed fitting to cut some gold vinyl giving tribute to our favorite story.

We already had the hooks for the stockings, however, this year they got a quick coat of gold spray paint to give them new life. Earlier this fall I had gone on a fall walk with the boys and snapped a few photos. A little playing around in an online photo editing program and I was able to add Santa hats to each of their heads. I then printed their pictures from our home printer and placed them in some cheapo frames found at the craft store last year.

I told my hubby a few birch logs would look nice next to the fireplace, so he took a trek through the woods behind his parent's home and found a fallen tree. So fun to literally bring the outdoors, in!

We have been working on the storage space under our stairs, which is also right off of my studio. I had visions of sugarplums a gift wrapping station dancing in my head, so we put a rush on the project so I could use it for the holiday season! Since no IHeart Organizing tour would be complete without a little organization, here is a sneak peek!

But this post is long enough so more on that project super soon!

We will end the tour with that awesomeness and excitement! It is so fun to see what some ribbon and bulbs can do to make our spaces feel holiday ready! Thank you so much for stopping by today and enjoying our happy holiday home with us!

Ready to see more holiday home tour inspiration!? The Christmas Tour of Homes has been going on all week so there is plenty to be found!

I love how you can make things like plastic deer look so high end. Also I've been dying to try the bulb garland…LOVE IT! I need more organziation in my life so that storage center with wash tape, bows, and cards would be like a dream to me. I always like reading your blog. Merry Christmas ;)

Oh Jen, your home is beautiful. I love the bright fun colors. They are so you!! :) I am with you on the simple. I don't have the storage for it either. Like you said too, it is expensive. I love pulling out decorations we have had forever.

OMG!!!!! I love it all. I am with you in cheep décor and very simple stuff. the season is already crazy I don't want my house full of crazy stuff. I am going to my craft room right after this. The bow and paper in a magazine file and a basket omg !!!! I have it all stuffed in a basket but I have to pull it all out to find anything. As always you inspire. Thanks and hope you have a great Christmas.

Wow, Jen, you are such an inspiration. I love how beautifully you decorated for the holidays, and also how you have great ideas that are also AFFORDABLE. I will be trying the DIY ornament garland and absolutely love your tradition of opening the box beneath the tree that holds all the handmade ornaments. I've been following your blog for nearly a year now and love how upbeat, creative, and family-oriented you are. Keep up the great work and Happy Holidays!

So fun Jen! I love that you didn't spend a ton of money and added the perfect amount of holiday cheer by crafting it up and reusing old things in a new way. So sweet that they boys didn't want to tear their chain :) Merry Christmas to all the Jones Family!

ohmygosh -- i feel like I was at your house with you!! love it!!! i'm crazy for your ornament garlands...so stocking up on sales this year so I can make those next year! I need your reindeer wreath hanger, too!!! I just love all the cheery colors (obviously) -- and I love you!! Merry merry, my darling friend!

Thank you so much! The spray I use is Rustoleum gold metallic spray paint, which can be found at just about any hardware store. I also love using a gold leaf paint with a brush, which can be found at Craft Stores.

Your house is so cheerful, and lovely....and it is funny, the best take away I got today is not Holiday inspired. I have similar hooks on MY landing and have not decided what to hang on them, and really had NO IDEA, until I saw your basket hanging there....I could kick myself....I have tons of hanging baskets from Longeberger...surely ONE will fit just right! Thanks for some unexpected inspiration! Enjoy the snow! We have 8 inches on the ground here in MN where I am at...love it! Rosie

Love your home no matter the season. Large homes with tons of storage are in the $1 million plus range in much of New England. I love to see homes that are more like mine. You have given me so many tips that enable me to live large in my small home.

So fun and just the right amount! Do you remember where you found that wire basket for the "thank you cards, etc"? I've been looking for something to store my note cards, but did not want to hide their color, that basket is perfect.

Your house looks amazing! I am such a fan of yours and always enjoy reading your posts. This one really took my breath away with all the Xmas sparkle.One question: where did you find your living room rug?

I love it all! I knew I would. We have a similar kitchen set up with minimal space for decor so I took red ribbon and hung it vertically on a few of my cabinet doors (with painters' tape so it peels off nicely) and then glitterized some clothespins for hanging all our Christmas cards. We love it so much that last year I just changed out the red ribbon for something that matches our everyday decor and hang the kids' artwork on it now too. Thank you Pinterest!

Love your tree. What variety/species is it? Here in Australia we usually get Radiata Pine (pinus radiata) and it looks so spindly and ordinary compared to the full, sturdy European and North American Christmas Trees.

I fell in love with that chalkboard print instantly and rushed right over to the Caravan shop to purchase it! But how in the world did you get it printed for only $4?!? When I check the website I can't seem to find printing for cheaper than $12...

Love that ornament garland.....and I love that your oldest is almost as tall as you; I feel like I watched him grow up! Have a wonderful holiday! BTW, I was reorganizing my work closet Friday as my coworkers have gotten messy; the comment was 'she's at it again!"

Love the tour and each and every one of the festive details!!! I'm totally stealing the DIY garland and hot chocolate station ideas! If you don't mind sharing where you got your LR rug, I would appreciate it! I've been looking for months for a rug like that!!! Thnx!

Thank you so much!! We love the cocoa station! :) The rug is from rugsuSA.com, I purchased it during a huge 4th of July sale this summer: http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/rugs-usa-moroccan-shag/natural/200HJMRC1A-8010.html

Love your house so much, especiall with the holiday decorations! Can't wait to hear about the couch! And I'm also wondering where you got the blakc/white rug that is in your entry way? Thanks for sharing your home!

oh I love your wonderfully happy and colorful holiday home Jen! The ornament garlands are so awesome! I think I may add some to our home. The hot cocoa bar is so fun and I looooove your family traditions.

Jen - I love your post and how festive your home looks for the season! I am inquiring about the gallery wall in your living room. I like the idea and I am wondering …Where are the frames from?How did you hang them so perfectly?How do you keep them straight?Thanks!Jane from NJ

Thank you Jane! I found the frames from IKEA years ago now, but I believe that still sell similar styles.

My hubby was the master behind the grid. He did a lot of measuring and marked on the wall with pencil which he later erased {magic eraser works as well}. We added a small rolled up piece of painters tape to the bottom corner of each frame so they wouldn't move around on the wall. They have stuck and remained the same since hanging them.

Thank you so much for taking a moment to join in the conversation! I read and sincerely appreciate each and every comment, however, I will remove any comment that I believe to be inappropriate, malicious or spam like. I would love for this comment section to be used as a place to engage in purposeful dialogue, and criticism/feedback is best received when shared constructively. This blog is my happy slice of the internet, let's keep it that way!